Pressing machine



Dec. 27, 1938.

C. MENDELSON PRESSING MACHINE Filed April 9, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet l C h l, 24 2-. "hu

. I 2 22 J4 E; 45 Z] M f 22 22' F m HUI H I I, L 1 I INVENTOR I C/mrles Mendelson, g BY F ATTORNEY Dec. 27, 1938. c. MENDELSON PRESSING MACHINE Filed April 9, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR C'fiar/es Mew/dam, BY

Al-ilk ATTORNEY Dec. 27, 1938; 3. MENDELSON PRESSING MACHINE Filed April 9, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 lNVENTbR Char/es Manda/son ATTORNEY Dec. 27, 1938. c. MENDELSON 2,141,249

PRESSING MACHINE Filed April 9, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Char/es Manda/son, BY

ATTORNEY Dec. 27, 1938. c. MENDELSON PRESSING MACHINE Filed April 9, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR C/r ar/es Menu e15 an,

ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 27, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DRESSING MACHINE Charles Mendglson, New Rochelle, N. Y.

Application April 9, 1938, Serial No. 201,143

9 Claims. (01. 223-47) The invention relates to pressing machines used to pressor iron goods such as shirts and between heated members, one at least of which embodies a more or less resilient pad.

It has been the practice heretofore, more especially in the ironing of shirts and the like, to iron the shirt bosom and then to finish the sides and back in another operation or operations.

It is an object of the present invention to provide ironing mechanism whereby a'flnish of the entire shirt, other than its culls, sleeves, and collar band, may be effected in a single operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine of this character which may readily be'adapted to the ironing also of other articles of apparel or to flat work and serving as a body press.

In carrying out the invention, there is provided upon a suitable supporting member or standard a stationary intermediate buck composed of separable halves, the one surface of the buckbeing of suitable shape for the work to be ironed or pressed and designed to cooperate with a movable platen which wlll'press and holds. portion of the article to be finished, while its opposite and separable surface is designed to engage and distend or tension a further portion or portions of thearticle. The said buck is free at one end to admit of placing readily thereover the work to be ironed; and a collar or collar band retaining -element is associated with said buck at the free end and comprises a holding portion which is entirely independent of an abutment portion separably secured to the buck,

. so that it may be removed ii'it' bev desired to utilize the buck for the pressing of articles not requiring a collar or collar band hold.

In the case of the pressing of a shirt with tail,

provision is made for a movable element to en- 3-3, Fig. 1 of the drawings. and looking in the 55 direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation.

- Fig. 5 is a fragmentary front elevation, to an enlarged scale, illustrating. the collar band holding means; and Fig. 6 is a transverse-section through one portion thereof.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view, and Fig. 8 a transverse section taken on the line 8-8, Fig. 7, of a camming element forming part of the operating mechanism for said holding means portion.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary longitudinal section illustrating a modification of the pressing machine. I

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary transverse section illustrating a further modification-of the pressing machine.

Referring to the drawings, 20 designates the base of a suitable supporting frame having the standard or upright member 2| which carries a pivoted pedal 22 or other known means for op-- erating a platen 23. This platen is hollow so that it may be heated, as through a steam admission pipe 24; and it is pivotally carried at the top of the standard through a lever 25 which in turn is connected to the pedal 22 by a link 26.

The said platen 23, moreover, is normally held in the elevated position, shown in Fig. 1, as by means of a spring 21, one end of which is attached to the standard and the other to the link arm of the lever 25. It is designed to be depressed in the usual manner through pedal 22 for contact with the upper surface of a stastandard 30 secured to the base.

The buck, as shown, comprises anupper, half 3|, which is provided with an ironing or pressing pad 32, and a lower half 33. Both of'the halves are provided with heating ducts 34 and 35 respectively, to which steam may be introduced, in the case of the former half through the pipe connection 36 and in the case of the latter half through a flexible connection 31. The latter half, in accordance with the invention, is made separable from the upper and fixed half; and the upright '30 to this end is provided with a horizontally directed channel portion 40 to which the upper half is fixedly secured as by ascrew 4|, whilethe lower half is normally held thereto through the action of a pair of springs 42 whichare attached at their opposite ends respectively to said lower half and to the horizontal channel portion 40, as shown.

tionary buck mounted upon a further and hollow To separate the said lower half 33 from its fixed upper half 3|, the channel portion 40 carries also a pair of cylinders 43 with pistons having projecting piston rods 44 extending downwardly to engage bosses 45 upon the inner surface of the lower half of the buck. The latter is hollowed to accommodate the cylinders and springs, as well as the pipe connections 46 for introducing a fluid actuating medium to the said cylinders.

The connection for the fluid, which may be air under suitable pressure, communicates with a suitable source of supply as indicated at 41, there being included an I intermediate pressure regulator or check-valve 48 whereby the pressure to be applied to the pistons for advancing their piston rods 44 will be limited and will thus determine the extent of separation of the lower half from the upper half in overcoming the force exerted by springs 42. A definite limit to this extension of the lower half or expansion of 'the buck is provided through pairs of angle brackets 50 which extend upwardly from the inner surface of the lower half outside of the channel portion 48, and .carry horizontally disposed rollers 5| projecting into vertically disposed grooves 52 in the outer surfaces of the walls ,of the channel portion. Suitable stops 53 at the bottom of the respective grooves limit the travel of the rollers and thus of the said lower half. A peripheral shield 54 attached to the fixed half and extending over the lower half serves to conceal the interior of the buck when its halves are thus separated.

On top of the upper half of the buck there is provided the usual collar or collar band abutment or form 55 when the apparatus is to be utilized for the ironing of a shirt. This abutment, however, is removably attached, as by means of the thumb screw 56, to the end of the upper half so that the apparatus may be used interchangeably as a shirt press or a body press or as a family press wherein it is unnecessaryto expand the buck. This end, furthermore, as well as the associated lower half, is perfectly free and'not connected to other portions of the frame so that goods may be freely placed over the buck which, in the case of a shirt would be the bosom, to be located on the padding 32; and when the platen 23 is then depressed to contact this portion of a shirt, it will be firmly held to the padding.

Thereupon, the lower half may be separated to distend or tension'the rest of the body portion of the shirt so that this will also receive a finish throughcontact with the outer surface of the said lower half. In operating the press in this manner, it will be understood that the platen is first depressed by stepping uponthe pedal 22 whereupon the fluid pressure is supplied as by turning the handle 49 toafford communication from the source 41 through the pressure-regulating means 48 to the pipe connection 46, and the respective cylinders 44.

In view of the free-ended buck member utilized with the novel pressing machine, the collar holder or clamp, when working with shirts and the like, is mounted independently of said buck as upon a further' upright or standard 68. As shown in the drawings, more particularly Figs. 5-8, the holder comprises a U-shaped support 6| carrying the holding loop or yoke 62 designed to contact with the abutment 55 in holding a collar band in position on the buck, said member being urged in a direction toward the buck by means of a spring 63 attached to the standard 68 and bearing against the said U-shaped member. This member is pivotally'mounted on the standard 68 to maintain normally an upright position, having to this end a rod 64 passing through and fixed to a body portion of the support 6| which is mounted, to ride in slots 65 of a U-shape inclined bracket 66 fixed to the upright while its respective ends enter slots 61 in oppositely disposed arms 68 and 68' of the actuating lever. The

latter is mounted in the standard to rock about the pivot shaft 69.

To insure a normal upright position of yoke 62, a pair of cam elements 18 formed on the bracket at one end of its slots 65 cooperates with fingers 'II on the rod 64. When the actuating lever 68 is angularly moved (to the left in Fig. 5) rod 64 moves downwardly in slots 65, allowing yoke 62 to turn under the influence of spring 63 to the position indicated in broken lines, Fig. 5. A pair of clips 12 located at the respective sides of the bracket at the lower end of the slots serve to lock the rod 64 in this position. To release the yoke, the action is the reverse, fingers H engaging the cams and elevating the yoke to the .position shown in full lines.

By turning the handle 68 'so that the loop 62 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow, the said loop 62 will be brought over abutment 55 to the position indicated by the broken lines to clamp the collar band or collar thereto during the pressing operation. Upon completion of this operation, handle 49 will be returned to normal position, as shown in the full lines, to restore the lower half to its normal position in contact with the upper half, whereupon the platen may be released by foot pressure on a release pedal 15 having the spring-drawn detent 16 for locking the pedal 22 in its depressed position upon lowering the platen to the buck.

In the ironing of shirts, with tail portions, ,it is, of course, desirable that such portions also be finished; but as such portions will depend from the body portion proper, no contact will be had with the under surface of the separable halves of the buck when this is depressed as hereinbefore set forth to tension the rest of the body portion of the work. There is provided, to this end, a finishing element located below the buck and associated preferably with a tray portion which is also located beneath the buck and fixedly mounted upon the said standard 2|, said tray serving to catch any work which might slip from an operator's hand. The said finishing element is designed to receive simultaneously a movement longitudinally of the buck and toward the same so as to pick up the depending shirt portion and carry it into contact with the outer surface of the said lower half and provide a finish thereon. This action is timed to occur, however, after the lower half has been expanded, the movement of the said element being therefore retarded .with respect to the movement of said lower half.

This is conveniently effected by making the pipe connection 82 for the actuating fluid for said element of lesser cross-sectional area than the connection 46 for actuating the piston rods 44, both connections being made to the common source 41 and beyond the pressure regulator 48. Therefore, when the handle 49 is manually actuated to Supply the fiuid pressure, while both the buck half and the said element begin to move, the half will reach its limit of extension before contact is made with said half by the said element. 1

As indicated, this element is channel-shaped and comprises a U-shaped member embodying the sides 85 designed to embrace the side walls of the lower half 33 of the buck and a bottom 86 shaped to conform to an enlargement81 of the under surface of said half for pressing ma- 1 upon a support 88 and is resiliently positioned thereon by leaf springs 89 and 90 located upon opposite sides of its pivot 9|. platform 88 in turn is carried by pairs of links 92 pivoted also to the standard 30 to which is also pivoted an operating cylinder 93 in communication with the source of fluid supply through the pipe connection 82. A piston 94 movable in this cylinder under the action of the fluid supply is pivotally connected to one of the pairs of links through a connecting cross-rod 95, and the said pair of links are also normally urged by a spring '96 to the position shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings Wherein the channel element is shown as located in its lowermost position. A nose 91 extending from the cylinder 93 is provided to engage the standard 30 for limiting the movements of the cylinder, links and channel element. When pressure is applied to piston 94, the channel element will be elevated and at the same time moved longitudinally of the buck half due to the linkage connection shown; and it will thus gradually pick up a depending portion of the work to carry it into contact with the under surface of the lower half of the buck.

In Fig. 9, a modification is indicated, more especially in relation to the movable element which is indicated therein as being combined with the tray portion. Thus, below the intermediate buck with its upper fixed half I00 and its lower separable halt llll, there is located a tray member I02 having the shaped end portion I03 adapted for engagement with the depending portion of the work, as in the previously described embodiment. The remainder of the bottom of the said tray in this embodiment engages also the entire back and part of the sides of work mounted over the buck. The combined tray and finishing element is resiliently supported upon a table I84 through springs I05 and I06, and is projected toward and longitudinally of the buck by a piston lll'l'operating. in a cylinder I08, as hereinbefore set forth. This type of the apparatus is particularly suitable for use as a light coat, smock or jacket press. 'Both the platen and tray may be suitably lined, if required.

Fig. 10 shows a further modification wherein the combined tray and finishing element llll has combined therewith a heating chamber III as for steam which may be introduced therein through a flexible connection 2. The said combined element which is designed, as in the previous embodiment, to be advanced toward and longitudinally of the buck member as the lower half H3 of the latter, is padded in this embodiment and extended from its upper half Ill after the platen H5 has secured the work to the pad H6 of said upper half. By this expedient, and in view also of the free end of-the buck, particularly when the abutment is removed, heavy pressing may be accomplished thereon, as of woolen overcoats and the like.

I claim:

1. In a pressing machine: a frame, an inter-' mediate ironing buck supported thereon and including a fixed padded half and a separable movable half, together with means to heat both of the halves, a platen adaptedfor engagement with the fixed half of the buck to press work thereon and hold a portion thereto, together with means to effect movement of the platen, means to efiect the separation of the lower half of the buck from the upper half to tension a further portion of the work, an element located beneath The support or the buck, and means to position the said element against the lower half of said buck for engagement with a depending portion of the work.

2. In a pressing machine: a frame, an intermediate ironing buck supported thereon and including a fixed padded half and a separable movable half, together with means to heat both of the halves, a platen adapted for engagement with the fixed half of the buck to press work thereon and hold a portion thereto, together with means to effect movement of the platen, means to effect the separation of the lower half of the buck from the upper half to tension a further portion of the work, an element located beneath the buck, and means operative subsequent to the separation of the buck halves to position the said element against the lower half of said buck for engagement with a depending portion of the work.

3. In a. pressing machine: a frame, an intermediate ironing buck ,supported thereon and including a fixed padded half and a separable movablehalf, together with means to heat both of the halves, a platen adapted for engagement with the fixed half of the buck to press work thereon and hold a portion thereto, together with means to effect movement of the platen, means to effect the separation of.the lower half of the buck from the upper half to tension a further portion of the work, an element rockably and yieldably mounted beneath the buck, and means to position the said element against the lower half of said buck for engagement with a depending portion of the works i 4. In a pressing machine: a frame, an intermediate ironing buck supported thereon and including a fixed padded half and a separable .movable half, together with means to heat both ment located beneath the buck, and movable into position against the lower half of said buck for engagement with a depending portion of the work and subsequent to separation of the said lower half from the upper half, pneumatic means for effecting the separation of the lower half of the buck from the upper half, pneumatic means for positioning the said movable element, and a source of air under pressure connected to the respective pneumatic means, the passage of air from said source to the positioning means for the movable element being retarded relatively to that for the buck separation means.

5. In a pressing machine: a frame, an intermediate ironing buck supported thereon and including a fixed padded half and a separable movable half, together with means to heat both of the halves, a platen adapted for engagement with the fixed half of the buck to press work thereon and hold 'a portion thereto, together with means to effect movement of the platen, an element located beneath the buck, and movable into position against the lower half of said buck for engagement with a depending portion of the work and subsequent to separation of the said lower half from the upper half, pneumatic means for effecting the separation of the lower half of the buck from the. upper half, pneumatic means for positioning the said movable element, and a source of air under pressure connected to the respective pneumatic means, the cross-sectional area of the connection to the first-named pneumatic means being substantially larger than that to the last-named means.

6. In a pressing machine: a frame, an intermediate ironing buck supported thereon and including a fixed padded half and a separable movable half, a platen adapted for engagement with the fixed half of the buck to press work thereon and hold a portion thereto, together with means to to effect the separation of the lower half of the buck from the upper half to tension a further portion of the work, atray located beneath the buck, and a movable element associated therewith, together with means to impart simultaneously to the movable element a movement toward and longitudinally of the lower half of the buck to cause said element to engage therewith when said lower half is separated from its upper half.

7. In a pressing machine: a frame, an intermediate ironing buck supported thereon and including a fixed padded half and a separable movable half, a platen adapted for engagement with the fixed half of the buck to press work thereon and hold a portion thereto, together with means to effect movement of the platen, means to effect the separation of the lower half of the buck from the upper half to tension a further portion of the work, a tray located beneath the buck, a movable element associated therewith, together with a fiuid pressure cylinder pivotally attached to the frame and a piston extending therefrom, and link mechanism pivotally attached to the effect movement of the platen, means frame and connected with said piston and the movable element to impart simultaneously to the latter a movement toward and longitudinally of the lower half of the buck to cause said element to engage therewith when said lower half is separated from its upper half.

8. In a pressing machine: a frame, an intermediate ironing buck supported thereon and including a fixed, padded half and a separable movable half, a platen adapted for engagement with the fixed half of the buck to press work thereon and hold a portion thereto, means to effect the separation of the lower half of the buck from the upper half to tension a further portion of the work, together with'a pressing element located beneath the said separable half of the buck, and means to position the same against said separated half.

9. In a pressing machine: a frame, an intermediate ironing buck supported thereon and including a fixed, padded half and a separable movable half, a platen adapted for engagement with the fixed half of the buck to press work thereon and hold a portion thereto, means to eifect the separation of the lower half of the buck from the upper half to tension a further portion of the work, together with a pressing element located beneath the said separable half of the buck, and means to position the same against said separated half with a movement longitudinally thereof.

CHARLES MENDELSON. 

